//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Anon-a-Miss: Change Your Mind // by King_Again //------------------------------// “Hurting someone can be as easy as throwing a stone in the sea. But do you have any idea how deep that stone can go?” The wind was cold against her skin as she walked aimlessly around the town that once made her feel protected and loved. She didn’t bother looking up to know she got a few looks from people passing by— she didn’t need to look up to know that much. It was probably because she lacked a jacket in these cold times but honestly, it felt good to know she was still capable of feeling something. Her eyes looked dead. Dull. There wasn’t a light that once shined brightly, no, that had run out so quickly over the past few days. Weeks, even. She couldn’t recall when she woke up to find her eyes so dim. She couldn’t remember anything nowadays; only the sole fact that everything hurt and it was hard to get up in the mornings. There was a small desire to stay in bed, to say “fuck it,” and not go to school with Winter Break being so close by. What good would it do if she went anyways? Everyone hated her. They all blamed her for the latest problem. They wouldn’t listen to her reasoning, they’d ignore her cries for them to just listen, and continued to blame her. Even her so-called ‘friends,’ were blaming her for this. It made her stomach turn to see their friendliness turn into anger.  Why couldn’t they see she had nothing to do with this? Why couldn’t they see she had nothing to gain from doing this? She had absolutely no reason for this at all. But they stole one look at her and assumed she had gone back into her old ways, and it hurt. Was that all they saw of her? A bitch who just wanted popularity— who wanted to drive everyone apart and would stop at nothing in order to do so? Yes, in the past, that’s how she was but not anymore. She had changed. Why couldn’t they see that? It made her sick to think they would turn their backs on her so easily. Just like that. At one point, the pain had become so unbearable and she felt so numb that she struck up a blade against her skin to see if she was still capable of feeling. The only problem was she didn’t know if she could be relieved or not when she discovered she was still capable of feeling.  … she also couldn’t stop after one cut.  One soon becomes two, followed by becoming three and so on. Eventually her arms were littered with angry red marks. It could have raised concern if she had allowed everyone to see her arms, but she didn’t. If she was being honest, she had doubts that anyone would care about her newfound habit. They would just say she was seeking attention— that she wasn’t capable of feeling that way. That she was lying again, just like when she said she had nothing to do with Anon-a-Miss. Yes, that’s what this was all about; Anon-a-Miss. An online secret admitter that got everyone railed up when they discovered their deepest secrets were being shown online. It tore up so many friendships and relationships just like that.  She couldn’t go anywhere without being seen by classmates and fellow students that hated her. So many times she had to leave a store or building simply because the business there couldn’t be risked with fights. In that sense, she could understand— everyone could. That was just normal in everyday lives.  Coming back into reality, she blinked to see herself at a bridge, hearing the rushing water underneath. When had she gotten onto the railing? When had she swung her legs over? She shrugged, not caring anymore. If jumping off of the bridge meant she could finally have peace and be at rest without having to worry anymore— then she was all for it.  If jumping meant she didn’t have to deal with everyone at school, where teachers didn’t really intervene that much, didn’t truly punish the tormentors and instead targeted the victims more, then she was happy to acknowledge the sweet relief that came with suicide. It would be so easy too; just a simple step away to happiness and then she would be free. She couldn’t wait. … why wasn’t she jumping? It was right there. Relief. Why wasn’t she jumping? What was wrong with her body now?  Ah, that’s why.  The stranger that looked familiar, who was holding her shoulder with worry-filled eyes, mouthing something to her. That’s why she couldn’t jump. This stranger was preventing her from becoming happy again; preventing her from finding people who actually gave a damn about her in the afterlife.  The one who was tugging her down from the bridge and was… hugging her? What? “…are you even listening to me?” the voice broke through her broken mind and brought her back to reality even more than she was. She could actually hear this stranger now.  “I…” she swallowed heavily, blinking to bring her dazed gaze into focus. “I’m sorry, what?” A sigh. But there was no disappointed expression. It stayed the same worried one. That was new. “I said, what were you thinking?” the stranger repeated, digging through their bag to pull out a spare jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders. “Did you even think about what you’re doing? All the people you might—” “— no one’s going to miss me. Everyone hates me. I’d be doing them all a favor anyways. You’re wasting your time on me.”  Taking a closer look, she suddenly realized why this stranger looked so familiar. She was a Shadowbolt judging by the uniform she had underneath the jacket. God, this was something; a Wondercolt saved by a Shadowbolt. It was practically unheard of considering the schools’ rivalry.  “You’re a Shadowbolt,” she whispered, amazed. “I… uh… don’t remember you, though.”  “Sugarcoat,” the Shadowbolt replied, adjusting her glasses. “You’re Sunset Shimmer— Canterlot High’s former queen bee.”  Sunset looked down at the ground. “I would rather not be reminded of that. It’s still haunting me to this day; but like I said, you’re wasting your time on me.”  “Wasting my time?” Sugarcoat repeated, frowning deeply. “How am I wasting my time on saving someone from committing suicide? I literally saved your life.” “A life that shouldn’t have been saved.” A surge of concern shot through Sugarcoat even more than it already had as she swallowed thickly. Perhaps the depression Sunset had was even more deeper than she originally thought. Her stomach twisted as she forced herself to keep quiet to that statement. “Why?” asked Sugarcoat. When Sunset shot her a confused expression, she bit her lip and continued, “Why did you attempt to jump? What brought you to do this?” “A lot of things,” Sunset shrugged. “A lot of things.” “Explain them to me.” “It’s a long story, y’know. I’d probably be wasting your time.”  Sugarcoat took a deep breath. “I got time.”  When Sunset breathed out, she saw her pale breath in the air. “You’re not letting this go,” she stated. There was no question.  “No, not really.” Sunset hesitated for a single second before it all came out. Every little thing that happened before and after her life turned into the very thing that haunted her. All the pain that came with being accused, how innocent until proven guilty was gone within an instant. Even the very moment she took up a blade to see if she could still feel was brought up and concern flashed again in Sugarcoat’s eyes at that part and moved down to Sunset’s arms but she didn’t move to check them. As the Wondercolt finished, Sunset had to take deep breaths to collect herself. Admittedly, she felt better after getting everything out to someone; who knew that would help?  She flinched when she saw how thunderous Sugarcoat’s expression was, how tightly she was holding her skirt in her hands. Her knuckles looked like snow.  Maybe she shouldn’t have told her everything? Maybe then the girl wouldn’t be so pissed off.  “Morons,” Sugarcoat mumbled under her breath. “Bloody morons.”  Sunset’s gaze fell to the ground again. “I’m used to it, though. Nothing’s going to change, and at least I can get away from them during Winter Break. That’s a plus.” “But you had plans with them.”  “Not anymore. I think that became obvious when this all started. I always thought this would end someday, too. So I’m not all that surprised.” Sunset dryly laughed. Sugarcoat’s next move surprised them both as she took Sunset’s cold hand, and said, “Spend Christmas with me and my friends.” Both of their eyes widened but it was already out there. There was no taking that back.  Sunset took a moment to reply. “W-What?” Sugarcoat flushed, glancing away. “I-I said to spend Christmas with me and my friends— with the Shadowbolts. We’ll show you what real friendship looks like. I’ll give you a reason to change your mind about how much your life means to others.” “They’ll hate me too,” Sunset sighed. “Everyone does.” “That’s why I want to prove you wrong,” Sugarcoat stated, helping Sunset stand up with her, still holding her hand. She gave it a squeeze and locked eyes with the Wondercolt. “Just give me a chance to change your mind.” It would be so easy to turn her down. Just a simple ‘no,’ and everything could go back to the way it was. They could go their separate ways and never speak about this encounter again. Life would go on and everything would be fine. Yet for some reason, Sunset couldn’t find it in herself to say that easy word. It suddenly felt wrong to say it, and she didn’t know why. Instead, she found herself saying, “Okay.”  What was happening? She had been so close to finding happiness again and now here she was, agreeing to have someone try and change her mind about life. How stupid could she be? This would only serve to hurt her even more than she already was. “Thank you,” smiled Sugarcoat. “Now, let’s go warm up somewhere. It’s freezing and I hate the cold.” Sunset shifted. “Where are you thinking?” She didn’t have much money on her, so she hoped wherever they were going wasn’t too expensive. “Sugarcube Corner.”  Apparently she also hated the answer. Neat.